Fleet remarketing has long followed the same familiar process – retire a vehicle, recondition it, transport it to auction, and hope for the best on the sale price. While this has been the industry standard for years, it comes with significant inefficiencies and costs that cut into profitability.
With advancements in remarketing technology, a smarter, more profitable alternative is now available. By selling fleet vehicles directly to the individuals already driving them, fleet owners can reduce overhead, eliminate pricing uncertainty, and capture retail-level pricing at the wholesale stage.
The Financial Burden of Traditional Fleet Remarketing
The conventional fleet vehicle disposal strategy is both time-intensive and expensive. Once a vehicle is removed from active service, costs quickly add up, including:
Transportation fees
Storage costs
Reconditioning expenses
Auction listing and selling fees
Before a vehicle even reaches the auction lanes, fleet owners typically spend an average of $750 per vehicle. On top of that, every month a vehicle sits unsold, it depreciates by an average of 0.75%, further reducing resale value.
Traditional auctions also come with price volatility. Market fluctuations and bidding dynamics limit a fleet’s ability to control final sale prices, often leading to lower-than-expected returns.
A More Strategic De-Fleeting Approach
A direct-to-driver strategy allows fleet operators to sell vehicles directly to the individuals who are already using them, such as:
Rental customers
Corporate lessees
Fleet drivers
These buyers already know and trust the vehicle’s condition and performance, making them more likely to purchase rather than searching for a replacement vehicle elsewhere.
At Remarketing+, we call this ‘extreme upstream remarketing,’ helping fleet owners sell vehicles while they are still in use. By avoiding unnecessary downtime, holding costs decrease, and sales become significantly more efficient.
Key Advantages of Selling Direct to Drivers
Incorporating direct-to-driver sales into a fleet remarketing strategy offers several benefits, including:
Higher resale values by achieving retail-level pricing without the overhead of traditional retail operations.
Lower costs by reducing reconditioning, storage, transportation, and auction fees.
Faster sales cycles, minimizing depreciation losses and improving cash flow.
Seamless transactions using mobile-first technology for a streamlined and hassle-free buying process.
Driver Sales: A Digital Solution for Direct-to-Driver Transactions
Remarketing+ developed Driver Sales to facilitate this process, giving fleet owners a fully digital transaction system while ensuring compliance and reducing liability concerns typically associated with retail sales.
Adopting Direct-to-Driver Sales Is Easier Than You Think
Fleet operators don’t need to completely overhaul their current remarketing process to take advantage of direct-to-driver sales. Instead, this strategy can complement existing remarketing efforts, providing an additional revenue stream while maintaining control over pricing and sales timing.
By integrating a solution like Driver Sales, fleet owners can capture higher returns while reducing reliance on traditional remarketing channels.
The fleet remarketing industry is evolving, and innovative strategies like direct-to-driver sales are paving the way for greater long-term success. Now is the time to rethink fleet vehicle disposal and adopt a smarter, more profitable approach.
Schedule your demo today to learn more about how Remarketing Plus can help implement a direct-to-driver sales strategy within your fleet remarketing operations.